Wissa double sends DR Congo into World Cup knockout stage

Yoane Wissa delivered the decisive blow in the 91st minute, curling a shot into the bottom corner to finish his double and send the Democratic Republic of Congo past Uzbekistan 3-1 in Atlanta. The result carried DR Congo into the World Cup knockout stage for the first time, a breakthrough that came after a tense comeback and a finish that turned pressure into history.

Uzbekistan had struck first through Eldor Shomurodov in the 10th minute, briefly putting DR Congo on the back foot in a match that carried far more than three points. Wissa leveled from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, sending goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way. Fiston Mayele then put DR Congo ahead in the 78th minute, and Wissa closed the door in added time with another composed finish.

The victory sealed DR Congo’s place in the round of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams from Group K, where Sébastien Desabre’s side finished with four points. Uzbekistan ended its first World Cup without a point, leaving the African side as the one to keep moving in a group that tightened only after Wissa’s late intervention.

For DR Congo, the payoff was measured against a much longer absence. The country had not reached a World Cup elimination round since 1974, when it competed as Zaire, a 52-year gap that made the Atlanta result resonate well beyond one match. It was also the latest step in a tournament already shaped by Wissa, who had scored DR Congo’s first goal of this World Cup in the 1-1 draw with Portugal.

That earlier breakthrough came in the same competition that has now produced a second landmark for DR Congo, and Wissa again stood at the center of it. His penalty restored belief, Mayele’s goal flipped the scoreline, and the stoppage-time strike completed a comeback that gave DR Congo a place among the World Cup’s final 32 and, in the next round, a meeting with England.